Psychatog is arguably the best deck in the format. Deciding to play a good deck for once, I built it - and having good results with deck, I decided to take it to the JSS in Orlando, Florida. However before heading out, I got some advice and help at my local gaming store. It was suggested that I put Wonder in the deck; however, clogging the deck up with Wonder is not a good thing, and so it was decided that I should be playing Entomb in the sideboard so I could Wish for my one Wonder. Here's the first list for Wonder-Tog.

Wonder-Tog v1.0
Land (24)
4x Polluted Delta
4x Underground River
2x Cephalid Coliseum
3x Swamp
11x Island

Creatures (8)
4x Shadowmage Infiltrator
3x Psychatog
1x Wonder

Other (28)
4x Circular Logic
4x Counterspell
3x Force Spike
3x Smother
4x Chainer's Edict
3x Cunning Wish
3x Compulsion
2x Upheaval
2x Deep Analysis

Sideboard (15)
3x Ghastly Demise
3x Duress
3x Callous Oppressor
1x Entomb
1x Smother
1x Hibernation
1x Mana Short
1x Opportunity
1x Read the Runes

Now, this is only a slightly different build than many Psychatog builds I have seen, so I will only go over the differences in my analysis.

Wonder
I'm not sure this needs much explanation. Aside from helping against random rogue bird decks, Wonder makes the U/G matchup much smoother, as getting Wonder into the yard allows you to block their Wonder-powered flying dudes. However, if they don't get Wonder into the yard, then, well, you don't really need Upheaval now, do you? Only one is played because of the awesome Wish-Entomb.

Cephalid Coliseum
I know some builds run this, and others don't. This was a personal preference more than anything; however, blowing Coliseum and drawing off a Logic is good times. It can also help with pumping Tog and clearing junk from your hand.

Callous Oppressor
I know a lot of people dislike this card, but so far I've had some really experiences with it. Against U/G this can be a real MVP - because unless they play Spellbane Centaur, there is little they can do to stop this guy, and no matter what they choose to protect, you'll end up with something good. Not to mention that taking a guy when they announce their attack step and then blocking with their own guy (hopefully killing both of them off at the same time) is always great. He's also a good answer to the otherwise dangerous-if-resolves Phantom Centaur. However, I do believe three are too many.

Okay, now we're on to the actual tournament, followed by what I'm sure everyone actually wants: the decklist I should have played.

Match 1: Elf
This was a pretty easy match. My first opponent was a young kid by the name of Paul; I didn't get his last name because I don't think I could have even pronounced it, let alone spell it. The first game went by pretty quickly, with me drawing excellently and basically Smothering, countering, and Edicting everything in sight, while getting three flying Shadowmages and a 'Tog on the board. I didn't even bother to Upheaval this game.

Game two was mostly more of the same, though it was a much closer match. Once again I managed to get Shadowmage and tog onto the board - however, Paul came quite close to killing me with some double-Hurricane action. The first time I took three, going to four life. The second time he Hurricaned for four, which I responded to by saccing Coliseum and drawing two land and a wonder. I pitched the land and wonder, however I had a Counterspell in hand anyway and countered the hurricane, swinging for the win next turn with my flying dudes.

Games: 2-0 Matches:1-0

Match 2: U/G Madness
This matchup was quite upsetting - not because I was afraid of the deck, but because I was playing against my friend Jerry, who unfortunately, knew my deck almost as well as I did. The first game, however, was quite epic, with us attracting a small crowd of people as they watched the game go on. I was at three and Jerry was at six, when Jerry Upheavaled on the turn before I could 'Heaval for the kill. I scrambled to find a counter, but no luck.

However, he forgot to drop a land before he passed the turn, meaning I was able to drop an island and prepare for the Basking Rootwalla he should have played the previous turn. I managed to keep his side somewhat clear and I attacked with just Wonder and two other cards in my yard at that point, and only one card in hand. The 'Tog could have killed Jerry had I sacced the Compulsion in play and discarded and removed the cards in the yard. However, I was not paying attention and did not kill Jerry, knowing I could finish him the next turn. Unfortunately for me, he Upheavaled again the next turn, once again with me unable to counter, and this time did not make the mistake of missing the forest, Rootwalla drop.

The second game was over in about five minutes, with me seeing only two land in fourteen cards after a mulligan. Happens to the best of us, right?

Games: 2-2 Matches: 1-1

Match 3: BUG Opposition
These were just plain bad games, as I drew very few answers, and simply could not keep up with the drops. Both games ended up with him dropping opposition, followed by Braids. Both times I was drawing low on land, and simply couldn't deal with Braids. The second game was even less fun with him Duressing out what answers I did draw, and using Cabal Therapy to take the rest.

This match left me kinda stunned, because I had beat Jerry's BUG Opposition in testing every time. The guy who I played against was a bit of a jerk too. Just not my day, eh?

Games: 2-4 Matches: 1-2

Match 4: G/B Braids/Cemetery
This match was pretty close. The first game, however, was greatly in my favor as I drew all the counters and removal I could want.

The second game was the complete opposite, with me drawing pretty badly and his duress taking my counters. Once he resolved Braids/Oversold Cemetery and began the Ravenous Baloth beats, I simply could not win this game.

Onto the third game. This game was a close one, with me keeping a Oppressor in play. As he had named beast, he simply recurred Tusker each turn. I kept at it with continuous removal and finally managed to swing for lethal damage on the last turn of extra time.

Games: 4-5 Matches: 2-2

Match 5: U/G Rogue Control
This was an odd matchup, as we played mostly Draw-Go for the first few turns. I resolved Compulsion both times however, and managed to keep my hand full of counter magic and removal. He cast several big guys including Baloth, Quicksilver Dragon, and Seedborn Muse. Using his own counters to save his Muse, he seemed to have the upper hand; however, at one point he forgot to untap from the Seedborn muse, which earned him a warning, and enabled me to Edict the wretched thing off the board. Finally I Upheavaled and dropped Tog, with an untapped Island in play. A Spike and a Logic in hand sealed the game.

The second game was even easier, with him seeing little useful counter magic. Again Heaval-Tog with cheap counters and I win.

Games: 6-5 Matches: 3-2

Unfortunately my tiebreakers were not good enough to win me the one 3-2 slot. I wasn't exactly happy with my performance today, however I decided to just play some games with my Wake deck while waited on my friend Keith, who had made it into Top 8.

At home I was reviewed my deck, knowing that it was still missing something. Although the deck I brought was certainly not horrible, my mistakes were the more costly than an mistakes in the decklist, it needed some work. Looking for a way to improve it, I came upon Aether Burst and Standstill, which Jerry had recommended I play. I decided to try it and quickly fixed up the deck. After testing, I noticed a significant improvement with Standstill almost always finding me an answer. Here's the final decklist.

Wonder-Tog V.2.0
Land (23)
4x Polluted Delta
4x Underground River
1x Cephalid Coliseum
3x Swamp
11x Island

Creatures (7)
3x Psychatog
3x Shadowmage Infiltrator
1x Wonder

Other (30)
4x Counterspell
4x Circular Logic
3x Force Spike
3x Chainer's Edict
3x Smother
3x Aether Burst
3x Cunning Wish
3x Standstill
2x Upheaval
2x Compulsion

Sideboard (15)
3x Duress
2x Ghastly Demise
2x Callous Oppressor
1x Entomb
1x Smother
1x Coffin Purge
1x Hibernation
1x Read the Runes
1x Opportunity
1x Mana Short
1x Chain of Vapor

After reading another article on Psychatog here at StarCity, I tried maindeck Chain of Vapor - however, because you really want to keep Finkel in play where he can draw you cards, it is generally sub-optimal in this build. However, it earns a sideboard slot because it does bounce a permanent. The rest of the board comprises mostly Wishable removal and situational fixes - plus the wonderful Read the Runes trick, which is pretty self-explanatory.

I know a lot of people have stopped running Shadowmage Infiltrator in Psychatog lately, but I have to say that drawing two-plus cards a turn is really helpful and once he gets active, the answers just keep coming. The fact that he pings for a point is icing because it makes it that much easier for Tog to ensure it's kill. Overall, I feel this build of Psychatog is much superior to the more sorcery speed and Wonder-less builds.

Thanks for reading!
James Crooks
Elnion@hotmail.com